Board member accused of cursing, using ethnic slur
Krieger says he has a 'big mouth' but did not make racial remark
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - A township resident has called for Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education member Howard Krieger's resignation for allegedly using a racial slur.

Krieger has refused that request.

Arun Singh, a local emergency room doctor, has alleged that Krieger made an obscene gesture toward him and used a racial slur after Singh made public comments at the Board of Education's Feb. 7 meeting. With regard to the incident, Krieger said he is not about to admit to something he didn't do, and he refused to resign from the board as of press time on Tuesday afternoon.

During the public portion of the Board of Education meeting on Feb. 7, residents discussed their views about the board proposing an additional $13.2 million referendum to move the construction of the new middle school to a site on Breza Road. Voters first approved the middle school project for a site on Ellisdale Road in a $36.8 million December 2004 referendum. However, the project on that site has faced delays due to soil remediation and wastewater management issues.

During the public comment portion of the board's meeting, Singh alleged that the soil contamination on the Ellisdale Road site was used as a scare tactic to hold up the school's construction there.

"The sole purpose behind this was to stop the school from being built at Ellisdale Road because a subset of the population doesn't want it there," Singh said. "This is a subset which was unable to defeat the referendum in the first place. They have kept their interests ahead of all others,' including [those of] the children."

Singh alleged that after he made his comments, Krieger glared at him and made an obscene gesture toward him as he took his seat. Krieger denies making the gesture.

Singh's neighbor, James Derasmo, who was in the hallway at the time, said Krieger used "colorful" language toward Singh. Derasmo called it "embarrassing and mortifying" that an elected official would verbally accost a member of the community.

With regard to the alleged incident, Krieger said he has "a big mouth" and that he was angry at Singh's comments during the meeting. He alleged that he was saying to himself, "Don't be a [expletive] hothead" instead of what the witnesses have alleged that he said.

Krieger said his words may have been misunderstood by those nearby as a slur on people of Indian descent.

When Singh asked Smith what he intended to do about the incident, Smith said he never encountered such a situation in his career and told Singh he would call the state school board for information.

Smith called a meeting on Feb. 16 among Singh, Krieger and Joseph Stampe, the board president. During the meeting, Krieger apologized to Singh but said he did not use a racial slur. Singh asked Krieger for a full public apology and for Krieger's letter of resignation to specifically state that Krieger was resigning because he had made a racially insensitive comment.

According to Smith, a Board of Education cannot terminate a member's term unless the member has missed three consecutive regular meetings.

On Feb. 9, Smith told Singh that Krieger decided to resign, Smith said. When Singh asked Smith for the resignation to be effective immediately, Smith told Singh that the letter of resignation would be read at the board's Feb. 21 meeting, he said.

Singh said he felt that by postponing the resignation until Feb. 21, the board is "playing politics," as any resignation submitted after Feb. 15 would allow the board to postpone filling the vacancy until after the April 17 Board of Education election. If the board postpones the reappointment until after the election, a majority vote would fill Krieger's unexpired term.

According to state statute, a board has 65 days to fill the vacancy; if it does not meet the deadline, the county superintendent will fill the vacancy.

Krieger said that he had initially agreed to resign but has decided not to.

"He wants me to apologize publicly for racial remarks," Krieger said. "I will not admit to horrible things I did not say."

Singh said he received a call on Feb. 11 from board member William Borkowski asking him whether he would file charges against Krieger. Borkowski, however, alleged that he called Singh because he was doing community outreach regarding the new middle school referendum.

When told that Singh is unhappy with the outcome of his report of the incident, Smith said, "Unhappiness with the handling is very different than unhappiness with the outcome."

Singh later issued a statement that read, "The reason I am doing this is so that the community can see what is going on here. They have pushed my hand and forced me into this course of action. If I did not do this, I could not live with myself."

Singh continued, "What would I be teaching my children if I went away quietly and accepted what Mr. Krieger offered me? How could I expect my children to fight this type of injustice in the future if they were confronted with it, when their own father did not?"